Further scrutiny on Duke of York over lobbying

The Duke of York's position as trade envoy for Britain has come under further
scrutiny amid claims he lobbied an MP to boost the nation's business
interests in a former Soviet republic accused of torturing prisoners.

Prince Andrew attempted to convince Mark Field, Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster and chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on Azerbaijan, of the "tremendous opportunities" in the oil-rich central Asian state at a meeting on Monday.

Azerbaijan has been attacked by Amnesty International, the human rights organisation, for the violence and harassment with which it treats civil society activists.

Earlier this week the group called on the state's authorities to end their crackdown on protesters who have been inspired by the recent demonstrations in the Middle East and North Africa.

The Duke met Mr Field at Buckingham Palace to ask for support in parliament for British business in Azerbaijan despite an escalating row over his business links with foreign dictatorships, The Guardian reported.

Prince Andrew has visited the country a number of times in an official capacity and is said to have forged ties with its president Ilham Aliyev.

Mr Field told the newspaper: "He wants to raise the profile of the all-party group and wants us to make the case in parliament and to the business secretary of the business opportunities out in Azerbaijan. He feels it is a Cinderella country that has tremendous opportunities.

"One of the things he talked about was his feeling that a place like Azerbaijan is somewhere of great opportunity, and the more British politicians and businesses engage themselves with their counterparts in Azerbaijan, there will be material benefits."

He added that the Duke was "relaxed and in good humour" despite discussing "some of the headlines of the day".

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Duke's work in Azerbaijan focuses on oil, gas and energy security issues, all of which have great potential to deliver substantial opportunities for British companies.

"His work there is highly valued and he continues to play a role, at the request of Government, in helping to develop trade relations between our two countries."

Prince Andrew has also faced criticism for entertaining the son-in-law of ousted Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali at Buckingham Palace.

Mr Field's comments came as the row over the Duke's friendship with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein intensified after flight logs published in The Daily Telegraph showed that the convicted paedophile landed his private jet at an RAF fighter base during a visit to Sandringham.

Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution, flew his Gulfstream aircraft in to RAF Marham on December 7 2000 with the billionaire and Andrew's friend Ghislaine Maxwell on board.

Epstein and Miss Maxwell stayed at Sandringham as the Duke's guests, before leaving the country two days later on the same aircraft from Norwich International Airport.

A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman said civilian aircraft did not require special privileges to land at RAF bases.

She said: "Anyone with a privately registered aircraft can apply to land at RAF bases, but they would be subject to the appropriate fees, such as landing costs.

"Privately registered aircraft are routinely granted permission to land at RAF bases.

"There are procedures in place guiding this practice."

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

The Evening Standard newspaper quoted a royal source as saying the Queen has given Andrew, said to be her favourite son, her "full backing".

The Duke has been Britain's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment since 2001, travelling around the world and at home promoting Britain's business interests.

But there have been long-running complaints about the lavish nature of his official foreign trips.

He is said to have visited Azerbaijan about four times officially and a number of times privately.

Andrew has already received the backing of Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne and has continued with his public engagements this week in an apparent attempt to draw a line under speculation about his future.

His friend Goga Ashkenazi has claimed the Duke had sent her a BlackBerry message over the weekend saying he was "very, very worried" about whether he could remain in his role. This was strenuously denied by the Palace.

Conservative MP Nicholas Soames, a personal friend of Andrew, said: "This job that he does, he does very well. Britain is lucky to have him. The work he's done in emerging markets, the Middle East and Asia shows he works extremely hard."